The Budget session of the Delhi Assembly is set to begin on a stormy note on Monday, with the ruling BJP and opposition AAP confronting each other on the CAG report on the DTC and the “Mahila Samridhi Yojana”. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who also holds the finance portfolio, will table the first Budget of the BJP government in more than 27 years. The BJP returned to power in Delhi after 1998, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Assembly polls held last month. The five-day Budget session will begin with a “kheer” ceremony on Monday.

The second session (Budget Session) of the 8th Legislative Assembly will commence at 11 am on Monday, the Assembly secretariat has said in a statement. “Tomorrow is the first day of the Budget Session. The Budget will be presented on March 25. The CAG report will also be tabled during the Budget session,” Delhi Assembly speaker Vijender Gupta said on Sunday. The Budget Session is a crucial period in the legislative calendar, during which key financial and policy matters will be discussed and decided upon. The session is tentatively scheduled to run from March 24 to March 28, 2025, with provisions for extension if required.

Notably, in the Budget session, the CAG report on the functioning of DTC will be tabled in the House, the Delhi Assembly Secretariat said in a statement. This would be the third CAG report to be tabled in the House. The Budget for 2025-26 will be presented on Tuesday (March 25). It will outline the government’s financial priorities and development agenda for the year. A general discussion on the budget will be held on March 26, with the MLAs analysing financial allocations and policy initiatives. The Assembly will deliberate and vote on the proposed Budget on March 27.

Sources said that the CAG report has revealed that the total liability of the DTC, responsible for running public buses in the city, has more than doubled in a seven-year period between the financial year 2015-16 to 2021-22 when the AAP government was in power. The total liability which included equity capital, subsidy against electric buses, and interest on government loans among other things was Rs 28,263 Crore in 2015-16. It shot up to Rs 65,274.31 Crore in 2021-22.

The DTC, as of March 2022, had a fleet of 3,762 buses in its 36 depots operating on 461 city routes. It carried on an average of 15.62 Lakh passengers per day, with a manpower of 30,591 employees, and had a turnover of Rs 660.37 Crore in 2021-22. By end of March 2023, the corporation had a fleet of 3,937 buses.

Sources said that the CAG report states that the performance audit was taken up considering the essential bus service being provided by the corporation in Delhi and the fact that it has been “continuously incurring losses”. The audit examined whether the resources were utilised optimally to achieve operational efficiency and management of services was done based on sound business principles during the period of seven years from 2015-16 to 2021-22.

The report also observed that CCTV System was installed and commissioned in 3,697 buses in March 2021 and payment of Rs 52.45 Crore was released to the contractor but pending the user acceptance test of the system, it was not declared “Go live”. Thus, this system was not fully operational in buses as of May 2023.

Themed as the ‘Viksit Delhi’ Budget, it aims to incorporate public suggestions gathered through extensive consultations with various societal groups, including women, educators, farmers, and industrialists.

Earlier, chief minister Rekha Gupta had said that the Delhi government received more than 10,000 suggestions from the public for the budget. Some key areas of focus in the budget include addressing water logging, cleaning Yamuna River, tackling air pollution, enhancing education and healthcare, promoting employment, and developing infrastructure.

The Rekha Gupta government is expected to prioritise welfare programs for senior citizens, ensuring they receive adequate support and services. The government will also aim to provide affordable and nutritious food to the underprivileged is another priority area. Financial assistance for women, expansion of health services, and promoting public transport are also on the agenda.